Panama 66 — Restaurant in San Diego

This place could be incredible. But the wait time and service kill it. This place is not worth your money.

The food is good, but you have to wait a lifetime to receive it. For the wait, price, and location, my standards were higher. Panama 66 disappointed me.

The place is an outdoor, no-roof restaurant (it would be bad if it rained). You order at a booth in the front. The wait time during lunch on the weekend to order is about 10 - 15 minutes.

My friends and I ordered burgers, salads, and delicious garlic fries. We had beers too. The beers were pretty good. The burger was OK. The garlic fries were delicious. In fact, delicious enough for us to order one more serving of garlic fries after we had finished eating. We waited for 15 minutes for a small order of garlic fries. At that point, I called a waiter aside to ask him about the garlic fries. He acted surprised that we had ordered fries, as if there was no record of our order. He said they would be out soon. We waited another 10 minutes. I politely but assertively requested that they bring out the fries as soon as possible, since we wanted to go to the zoo and we had already been there for almost a half hour. This time they brought it out within a minute. To me, it appeared they gave us someone else's order so we wouldn't have to wait any longer. I wouldn't be surprised if they completely forgot about our order.

The selection for food places in this part of Balboa Park are limited, so it's extremely disappointing that this place was not better. I understand that they can get extremely busy. But having to wait 25 minutes for an order of fries that they forgot to bring out is unacceptable. Time is valuable. Especially for tourists, such as my friends who I had invited. For my out-of-town friends to have to wait 25 minutes for one order of fries is not OK. And it cut into our time to go to the Zoo. This establishment needs to improve their organization, communication, and turn-around time for food and orders.

Overall, not worth your money. I would definitely suggest bringing your own food and/or snacks and having a picnic. Come to this place for beer and/or refreshments. And if you have time to kill, or you came to Balboa Park to eat instead of sightsee, then this place isn't bad. But the experience did...

It was Sunday afternoon of Labor Day weekend. We had been finding dead-ends for museums and eateries, due to our own ignorance and lack of planning. We were told that Del Prado restaurant in Balboa Park served dinner. They were wrong, at least on Sunday night. Fortunately, the host at Del Prado guided us to Panama 66. We got there to find a 20 minute wait but it was the only game in the park. We met some friendly folks to visit with while waiting in line. The hostess came down the line to answer questions and give us menus to peruse. It was a nice menu, good price points and selections. I knew I wanted the honey roasted Brussel sprouts immediately. I finally decided on the pulled pork sandwich and the accompanying salad. The process, after waiting in line, is to go to the ordering station. The gal there was very friendly and helpful even after a day of taking hungry people’s orders. We sat down and my food came out in what seemed instantaneous. I was shocked. It looked great and tasted even better. The pulled pork was plentiful on the brioche bun and was pulled in a way that included chunks of meat. I like mine “wetter” but the flavor was excellent. The Brussel sprouts were crispy, hot and to die for. So good. The salad was a mix of nice greens, not just iceberg or romaine, dressed with a balsamic dressing. A huge shout out to Hailey. She brought my food and I expressed to her my delight in her prompt delivery. Her staff were attentive, bringing needed napkins and cutlery. My friend wanted something other than ketchup for her fries and they cheerfully brought her garlic aioli, which was very flavorful. I would, and will return to Panama 66. I’m glad we found it and the great staff. I don’t know if Hailey was the manager but she seemed to be keeping the place running, with a friendly, customer-centric attitude everywhere. The table next to ours went out to the garden until their food arrived. Plates started to be delivered and no one was there. One of the staff went out to the garden to tell them their food was waiting. That impressed me. If you’re in Balboa Park or not, Panama 66 is a great place in every aspect. I’m so glad Del Prado was not serving. We found...

Updated 09-30-20. Came by again for lunch. Their Covid-19 protocols are excellent and there's tons of room in the outdoor seating area for safety. Can't say the food was quite as great as last time but I'll return again anyway. They have a limited dine-in menu with reduced hours right now. From that, I chose the Protein Plate with Lemon-oregano marinated grilled chicken, Caesar salad and Israeli couscous. The only great thing was the couscous, but it was just a sprinkle on top of mixed greens. The Caesar salad was watery and lacked flavor. The chicken was an airline breast portion and undercooked (pink in the joints). I understand this is not a health issue anymore but I don't care for the texture or flavor of medium-rare chicken. My drink was lemonade and it was very tasty. They even gave me a free refill on it. Staff were very friendly and helpful as usual. Restroom is in the Museum of Art next door. It's very clean and open even when the museum is not.

Original Review: Tried this place for a late lunch last week. Unlike some others' experience, it wasn't crowded. It's counter service and after entering you immediately line up to place your order and receive a number sign to place on a table you choose. No waiting for either this time. You can also pick up a drink at the connected bar.

I had the roast lamb sandwich on toasted sourdough bread with a green olive and pomegranite seed tapenade, honey and mint creme fraiche and baby spinach. The current fashion for using too many ingredients can create a confused muddle but not in this case. The lamb was tender, perfectly cooked and the taste clearly came through the other complimentary flavors. I'd say a really good chef is in charge here.

My order was brought out pretty quickly and I served myself some water from the bar area. Tables were cleared and cleaned quickly. The restaurant is a pleasant outdoor space that opens directly to the San Diego Museum of Art sculpture garden. You can visit it without paying admission...